|
Oakland
Prospect Retires to Join the Priesthood
By
Tyler Kepner, New York Times
Published: January 22, 2010
Grant Desme hit 31 home runs and stole 40
bases in Class A last season, and as an encore, he was named most
valuable player of the Arizona Fall League. The
Oakland Athletics had plans to
invite Desme, a 23-year-old outfielder, to spring training next
month.
But Desme retired Friday to become a
Roman Catholic priest. In a conference call with reporters, he said
he would join St. Michael’s Abbey in
Silverado,
Calif., this August.
“I love the game, but I’m going to aspire
to higher things,” Desme said. “I know I have no regrets.”
Desme, a second-round pick in the 2007
draft, told Oakland General Manager
Billy Beane of his decision
Friday and said Beane was supportive. Desme said his breakout season
in 2009 had left him unfulfilled and confirmed his uneasy feelings
about continuing with baseball.
In 2008, when injuries limited him to two
games, Desme said he realized his higher calling.
“My injuries, I would say, have been the
biggest blessing God’s ever given me,” he said. “For my entire life,
I’ve defined myself as a baseball player, and in a way it’s been an
idol. When it was taken, it was an eye-opener. It was a shock.”
Desme continued: “Either way, if I played
in the big leagues and became a Hall of Famer, it’s still going to
end. I really started doing some soul-searching of who I was and who
I wanted to be. This is where it has led me.”
Visit the Diocesan Priesthood
or Men's
Religious Communities pages for more information
about discerning Religious Vocations. |
